London’s Alleys: Bartholomew Passage, EC1

This is a short alleyway that runs behind St-Bartholomew-the-Great Church, and in front of a very modern Livery Hall.The passage is just to the south of Smithfield, originally known as Smoothfield, and a horse trade and meat market from as early as the twelfth century. The passageway seems to have emerged from developments around the meat market between 1670s and 1800s, as various small buildings arose and vanished.
What was left was a block of buildings that ran in a single row behind the churc